The rain we have been deluged with for the past few days has subsided, and the local rivers are all swollen. This is a view of the Sudbury River from the South Bridge Boat House. Note the height of the water on the bridge in the background. Normally, there is about 6 feet of clearance under the three barely visible arches.
Jeanine is at a workshop this weekend, and I have had the kids all to myself. Maya started the day with a dance lesson and finished with a birthday slumber party. In the middle, she had a soccer game in which she played goalie for a bit. Her team was down 3-0 and came back to win in the final seconds by a score of 5-4.
Why does an otherwise normal child seek to incarcerate herself in the dog’s crate? Answer: To avoid eating vegetables. Fortunately, Maya continues to eat enough to grow and may one day need a larger sanctuary.
Nala does her cute paw thing while having her neck scratched by Nico. Torrential rains helped me stay focused on completing performance reviews for my staff. Once finished, I will have fulfilled my final obligations at Sonos.
I constantly remind the kids to brush their teeth regularly. The price I paid for not following my own advice as a youth is helping to sustain the dentistry industry in Boston. I had 4 teeth worked on today and can still hear the drilling in my mind.
This evening’s meal featured the most delicious rice salad. Jeanine is a true artist when it comes to making foods that are both nutritious and delicious, her wheat grass and sunflower sprout smoothies aside.
Despite his initial reservations about being placed in this rehabilitation center with what he describes as a bunch of old people, three discoveries have changed his outlook. First he discovered the library which he will no doubt investigate from top to bottom. Second he was recognized by a VERY attractive speech therapist who attends my parent’s church in Schenectady and offered to work with him on his weak voice. Finally, he prefers the marginally nutritious but tasty food (sloppy Joe’s for dinner last night) to the healthy fare my mother prepares for him. I have little doubt I will find him teaching dance lessons to the residents and staff when I return for my next visit.
My father has been moved from the hospital to a rehabilitation center in Amsterdam, NY where he is working to regain his strength. I made the 7 hour round trip to pickup my mother and visit with him today. He appears to be recovering although he is still very weak. He is lucid and seeking to make the most of every conversation and we enjoyed both lunch and dinner together. He completed three hours of physical therapy and slept for several hours. I used the down time to work from a make shift office I set up in the lobby of the facility. Mark flew in from Minnesota last week, Alissa and John spent time with him over the weekend, and Mayela is flying in from North Carolina tomorrow so he is getting a lot of support.
Jeanine has grown this wheat grass and sunflower sprouts from seed. Each morning, she harvests a small portion, which goes directly into the blender and comes out a healthy concoction that tastes like, well, to be honest, something that is healthy for you or delicious if you are a cow.
Maya and I deconstructed a Roomba today to help me prepare for my new job at iRobot. Doing so has given me great insight into the engineering of the product and I already have a few ideas for improvements that I will pass along to the design team. Maya participated from start to finish and her attention to detail and understanding of the mechanisms was very impressive. Although she is interested in becoming a veterinarian she would also make a fantastic mechanical engineer. Click on the photo for a closer view.
Today was my last day working in my Cambridge office at Sonos. I will finish up my last two weeks working from home before a brief vacation and then on to iRobot. Two images of special significance to me. The first is from the refrigerator in our mini-kitchen. It appeared one day and made me smile every time I saw it. Not quite sure what it means but I liked it. When I arrived at Sonos almost two years ago there was not a single plant on the entire floor. I brought in several for my office and was pleased as I left the building today to see how many plants now grace the officescape.
I swung by the Old North Bridge this morning on the way into the office. This remains one of my favorite post snowfall photography sites. Had I arrived a few hours earlier there would have been a lot more snow still in the trees which would have made for an even better photo. With all that is going on this week, however, I gave myself permission to watch the sunrise from the comfort of my bed.
Kyle prepared a Mickey Mouse pancake for visiting cousin Rachel who returned with us from Schenectady. My sister Alissa and her son John William arrived last night after touring Babson and Bentley. Today they will join Kyle and Jeanine for tours of Boston Univeristy and Northeastern University. My father’s condition has improved although he remains hospitalized.
Today was a big day at work and the reason we had to leave Schenectady last night. I announced to my team and the company that I had accepted a position with iRobot as their Senior Vice President of Product Development and that I would be leaving Sonos. It was not an easy decision because Sonos is such a wonderful company which is doing extremely well in an economic climate where most others are not. The iRobot opportunity, however, represents a tailor fit role and exciting challenge for me. The 20 year old company was founded by MIT grad students and is headquartered in Bedford which will cut my commute time in half. I will transition out of my role at Sonos over the next few weeks and will start my new job mid March.
When we arrived in Schenectady my dad was not looking very well at all. While we were touring schools he went to see his physician who promptly summoned an ambulance and sent him to the hospital. When we visited, he was still in this examination room after almost nine hours as the staff continued to monitor his condition. The entire family visited with him briefly before we had to leave for our return drive to Boston. My brother Mark flew in from Minnesota while sister Mayela coordinated from a distance. The latest reports have my dad showing great improvement and the situation as summed up by my brother – He is not going to croak. For me it was the first time I ever considered that as a possible outcome and we are all very relieved that we will get to enjoy his laughter for a while longer.
From my parents house it is a 45 minute drive to Saratoga Springs where Skidmore College is located. Just a tad larger than Union College with some 2400 students Skidmore seems highly focused on the arts. Kyle did not see as good a fit here and has placed it on his maybe list.
Union College is my alma mater and where my father taught psychology for most of his career. It was our first serious college tour with Kyle. Nicolai also tagged along for the experience. Union has changed appreciably since I attended and I found myself discovering a whole new school in many ways. Both boys came away with a favorable impression and given the proximity to my parents and to Boston it will likely remain on Kyle’s list of possible options.
Maya makes Belgian waffles for Valentine’s Day breakfast. We add food coloring to the mix in celebration of the holiday although it did little to change the appearance of the finished product. I had a nice two hour outdoor soccer scrimmage (first of the season) before the whole family drove to Schenectady to visit with my parents while doing a couple of college visits with Kyle.
Kyle spent the better portion of the afternoon creating a special Valentine’s Day present for Hannah. This bouquet features chocolate dipped strawberries with a white chocolate decoration. Meanwhile, my sweetheart arranged for me to receive an hour long full body massage for my special present. I am so relaxed I have done little today other than enjoy the Winter Olympics.
For my Valentine sweet heart. Maya distracted her mother while I arranged these roses as an early surprise for Jeanine.
Last night, Maya performed with the Concord All Town Band with her friend Sarinaugh. This was her first time playing saxophone in front of an audience, and she was fearless. Unfortunately, Maya was seated deep among the 50-piece band, and I had to settle for this shot of her taken as the band was taking the stage.
The Calabria men may have to step to the side for Maya, who is starting to rack up some serious hardware. Her indoor soccer team placed first in their division. Despite a long and interesting day in the office, I managed 2 goals, both toe pokes, and 2 assists to help my team to a solid win during my evening soccer match.
This evening Kyle completed his photography assignment for the week. He enlisted both his brother and sister as interchangeable models and gaffers. He set up the lighting for this photo and I simply shot over his shoulder. He is using film so it will be some time before I get to see his results.
Kyle is taking photography this term and we went out this evening to do a little night photography together. Kyle spotted this nicely illuminated tree and thought it would make a nice subject. I could not agree more.
Kyle and Hannah sit down to a game of cards after building a fire and preparing tea and snacks. Maya enjoyed a Brazilian dance and yoga class this morning while Nicolai spent the better part of the day at a wrestling tournament. He had a single match which he won by pinning his opponent in the second period.
After Nicolai finished wrestling last weekend, he borrowed my camera and took photographs of his teammates. This one was selected by the photo editor of the Concord Journal for the front page of the sports section. Click on the photo for a closer view and notice Nicolai’s first photo credit for a published work.
Lately, Maya spends a little time each morning rollerblading around the kitchen island. Today, she enjoyed skating around “Dusty,” our robotic vacuum cleaner, while he was busy doing his job.
Today I met with a former wrestler from my home town of Schenectady, NY. He wrestled for Niskayuna High School the arch rival of Mont Pleasant where I attended school. The encounter game me reason to search my archives in search of the name of another Niskayuna grad that I wrestled with in college. Points will be deducted if you do not pick me out on the first guess. Absent any other photos for the day this clipping will have to suffice for today’s entry.
Kyle requested a haircut this evening and I grabbed a before and after shot. I enjoy cutting the boys hair. It is a nice way of being close to them. They both complain that I take too long and that I cut their hair too short but I think they have also discovered that I do pretty good work. Reportedly Hannah approves which is really all that matters.
It was a very busy day at work and I came home exhausted with little energy to take a photo for the day. On such occasions I give myself permission to select a photo from the past. Here is my choice from exactly 10 years ago featuring my favorite daughter.